When our day of reunion finally came I walked from the hotel to her
apartment. It was a chance to catch some rays and fill the time between
now and when we were set to meet. It was like that guy entering
Jerusalem on foot instead of on horse. It gave one a sense of control
over distance and time, as opposed to waiting lamely at the hotel for
another hour to pass.

Every detail of that day is still so vivid five years later. Her
neighborhood was a typical Honolulu suburb, not very close to the sea
but with high rise apartments providing an ocean view. I wore new blue
tint sunglasses, surfer shorts and tennis shoes and let my body soak in
the rays. I did some push ups while leaning on a neighborhood wall on
the way. I was as free, healthy and balanced as one can be in life. No
other place, weather, and situation could have been more comforting.

Thus I rung the bell and she descended in a typically fashionable
outfit and warm hug. The complete lack of expectations was part of the
perfection… I can honestly tell you that I had no idea where we would
go or whether this would be our last meeting. In hindsight her
questioning, “what is marriage?” should have been a hint, but I rung
with an open mind. 

She drove me in her matching VW bug to a park overlooking the sea
for a brief stop, but the real destination was one of Hawaii’s most
beautiful hotels, the _________. We headed for the outdoor buffet and
feasted on sushi and others. To further ease her mind I told her the US
government would pay for our meal and truly money was no object that
day. We were far away from her circle of friends and connections and
farther away from mine. We were two perfectly matched beings married to
the wrong spouses, although only I knew this at the time. But for one
day at least, we were absolutely free from all social shackles. We left
the dining area into the open sunshine and she entered a conversation
on her cell phone while I patiently roamed the outdoor dolphin
pool. After the phone call came the moment of brilliance. We spotted a
white gazebo and I invited her to marry me there. “Sure”, she said as
we held hands and made the short walk. As I held her two lovely hands I
promised to love her for the rest of my life, and she did the
same. Then we held each other and she cried. We kissed.

There are not many moments in my life when I can say that I walked
on clouds, but this was certainly one of them. The other one was when I
kissed her for the first time in Tokyo… a moment which lasted for
days. This moment, however, has lasted for years. 

We proceeded to the seashore and took shelter from the sun beneath
palm trees in a secluded cove. We lay on the earth and held each
other. I thought of my ancestors on Greek islands doing the same, and
hers. There was one Hawaiian man in sight who may have enjoyed the
show, but besides him it was a man and a woman on a perfect island.

When we returned to her car I gave her a purple crystal, I wonder if she still keeps it?

I told her I’d like to swim in the ocean with her, so we arranged to
meet that evening. I think we met at my hotel room and went straight
into the sea—she in her bikini and me in shorts. I remember the taste
of salt water on her breasts. 

We ran back to the hotel room and I remember worrying whether my
co-workers—dozens were in the same hotel—would see me. We headed
straight for the shower where we pressed bare skin for the first time
in our lives. It was actually only a first step…we were one once again
on the bed….but it was the time several days later that reached
ecstatic perfection…

We had been meeting at the hotel almost every day that week, but as
time wore out I made the foolish choice to join my co-workers at a
luau. The feeling that she was an hour away but that we were not
together was absolutely unbearable that night. I called her from the
hell hole of a tourist trap and arranged to meet her at the hotel upon
my return, but the hours and minutes were excruciatingly slow. My group
dined on putrid pig and watched native Hawaiians pretending to enjoy
their dance. I don’t think I’ve ever felt such a dark depressing
sadness as my bus rolled back toward Honolulu where life itself awaited
me. 

When the bus arrived, my co-workers may have noticed my sprint back
to the hotel room. If any did notice, they probably wondered why I
could be in such a hurry, and whether I truly could not part from them
fast enough. When I reached my floor I found Atsuko faithfully waiting
in the corridor and we quickly entered the room.

She wanted to take a bath and did so alone. When she came out she
was relaxed and in full bloom. I placed her on the counter with a
mirror at her back and slipped into her body with a 360 degree
view. That was the moment we reached perfect togetherness and love. 

Sting wrote:

“No flowers at the altar

No white braid in your hair

No wedding dress to alter

No bible oath to swear

The secret marriage vow

Is never spoken

The secret marriage never can be broken”